GLENDA MCKAY (INGALIK-ATHABASCAN)

An esteemed artist in the Native art sphere, Glenda Mckay has spent more than five decades honing her craft, working in forms like beadwork, sewing and carving. The Alaska native is specifically known for her precise attention to detail, creating Athabascan dolls, hand-carved ivory masks, and miniature and full-size traditional and cultural items. Mckay uses beads that are 100 to 200 years old (sometimes older), and she tans most of the hide used in her work herself. Her ivory and bone carvings are crafted using knives, files and sandpaper. “I honor my elders through my creations. I remember the stories they told and all I was taught, and I try to tell the stories through my art so we live on,” says Mckay. “Each piece of artwork is made as traditional as possible and in remembrance of my elders and ancestors.”